Steam-radiator governor



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet -1.

W. BURNHAM.

STEAM RADIATOR GOVERNOR. No. 474,441. Patented May 10, 1892.

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v STEAM RADIATOR GOVERNOR. No. 474,441. Patented May 10, 1892.

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WALTER BURNHAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STEAM-RADIATOR GOVERNOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 474,441, dated May 10,1892.

Application filed January 12, 1892. Serial No. 417,889. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

l- 3e it known that I, WALTER BURNHAM, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Steam-Radiator Governors; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specifica tion.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for heating bysteam, and more especially to means by which the quantity of steamadmitted to a heating-coil or other similar heating device may becontrolled in proportion to the expenditure of heat by radiation orconduction from the pipe or passage containing the steam used forheating, so as to prevent undue condensation and consequent reduction ofpressure in the steam-generator when the apparatus is working underconditions producing exceptionally rapid condensation of steam-as,forinstance, when the entire body of water to be heated by the steamcoil iscold.

The object of my invention may be more readily understood by aconsideration of the fact that under the circumstances last referred tocondensation of steam in a coil surrounded by cold water which is to beheated may be so rapid as to use a large proportion of the steamproduced by the generator, while under ordinary conditions-that is tosay, when keeping up to a certain temperature a tank of water which isfed with cold water at a rate sufficient to compensate for vaporizationonly'the quantity of steam used will constitute only a small fraction ofthe steam produced in the generator. It follows that where steam from asingle generator is used for a variety of purposes great inconveniencewill be caused under the circumstances stated by the reduction ofpressure produced by the condensation in the heating-coilof the largerpart of the steam coming from the generator.

An apparatus embodying my invention is intended and adapted to govern orcontrol the quantity of steam supplied to the heatingcoil, so thatsubstantially the same amount of steam will be used at all times and theconsumption of an exceptional quantity, which would under ordinarycircumstances produce a greater condensation, will be prevented.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a View in elevation, withparts in section, of an apparatus embodying my invention. Figs. 2 and 3are detail views showing modified forms of some of the parts.

As shown in the said drawings, A isasteamgenerator; B, a tank containingwater to be heated; C, a steam-coil located in the lower part of saidtank; D, a steam-supply pipe leading from the steam generator to theupper end of the coil. E is a steam-loop or return-pipe constructed inthe manner set forth in a prior patent, No. 394,859, granted to WilliamIrving December 18, 1888, and adapted for returning water ofcondensation from the steam-coil into the generator by the direct actionof steam and without the agency of any pump or similar mechanicaldevice, said steam-loop comprising a risel-E', a drop-leg E and ahorizontal connecting the riser with the drop-leg. Said drop-leg entersthe boilerat a point below the water-level therein, and is adapted tocontain a pressurebalancing liquid column, above which is located aspace subject to low pressure, toward which steam flows through theriser and into which water is carried or swept upwardly in the form ofshort pistons filling the bore of the riser, waves on the sides of theriser or of globules suspended in the steam by steam which passesupwardly through the riser to the upper part of the loop, as fully setforth in said Irving patent.

F is a pipe forming a continuation or branch of the pipe D and leadingdownward to and connected at its lower end with the riser E.

G is a pipe connected with the lower end of the coil 0 and leadingdownward to and connected with the lower end of the riser E. Said pipe Gis provided with a regulating-valve g and a check-valve g, which valvesare herein shown as located in a lower horizontal part of said pipe G.

H is a pipe connecting the lower end of the steam-coil with the pipe F.The pipe H is provided with a valve 71. and the pipe F with IOC a valvef, located between the upper end of the coil 0 and thejunction of thepipe H therewith.

c is a discharge-pipe at the lower end of the coil 0, the same beingcontrolled by a valve 0.

O is a valve controlling the passage of steam into the upper end of thecoil 0.

The operation of the parts constructed as above described is as follows:Supposing the coil to be cold, the valve 0 is opened and the valve 0slightly opened and all air thereby blown out of the coil. The blow-offvalve 0' is then closed and the valvesf, g, and 72 opened, so as toplace the return system in operation; or, in other words, to effect thereturn to the boiler through the loop E of water of condensationaccumulating in the pipes D and F, the coil 0, and pipes G and H, backto and into the generator in the manner contemplated in the said Irvingpatent. If now the valves 9 and h are closed, water of condensation willfill the pipe G and the coil and the pressure in the return system willthen be greater than the steam-pressure acting through the coil upon theupper end of the pipe G. The water column in said pipe G will, however,act upon the valve g with a pressure which when added to that of thesteam upon the upper end of said water column will be greater than thesteam-pressure in the return system. It follows that if the valves 9 beopened, water will flow from the coil through the pipe G and valveg intothe riser E, and will be returned to the boiler by the action of steampassing through the steam-pipe F and carrying said water in separated ordetached masses upward through the riser. As water is drawn from thecoil the coil will be filled with steam, and it follows that by openingthe valveg to a desired extent water may be allowed to escape from thecoil just as fast as it will accumulate therein by condensation when theapparatus is working under normal conditions-that is to say, assumingthat all of the steam made in the generator is employed for heatingwater in the tank. Then the valve g may be turned to allow the escape ofwater of condensation from the coil at the same rate that it iscondensed therein, and this can be determined by gradually opening thesaid valve 9 until the boiler-pressure begins to fall, when the maximumamount of water which the boiler can evaporate and still hold a desiredsteam-pressure will be determined. In other words, assuming the boilerwill evaporate two gallons of water per minute and the valve g is set sothat only two gallons of water per the coil than is produced in theboiler. By so controlling the exit of water of condensation from thecoil therefore the amount of condensation in the coil may be governed orcontrolled without reference to the temperature of the water, it beingobvious that if the water is so cold as to produce more water ofcondensation than can escape through the valve then the coil will befilled with water up to a point where the steam-space 1s so reduced asto give a condensing-surface sufficient only for condensing thatquantity of water which will pass through the regulatingvalve. itfollows that as the heat of the tankwater increases condensation in agiven steamspace of the coil will be diminished; but as a definitequantity of water is drawn off through the regulating-valve, if thesteam-space 1n the coil is so small as to produce water in quantity lessthan is drawn off, the steam-space will be increased and will continueto increase until the amount of condensation is just equal to thequantity of water discharged, when evaporation and condensationwillagarn be in equilibrium. \Vhen the tank-water 1s very hot, the coilwill be entirely filled with steam, in which case the valvef may beclosed and the valve H opened, when the coil will be thrown into directcircuit with the return system, and water of condensation, as fast asformed, will pass into the riser of the return or steam loop and will becarried back to the boiler.

It follows from the above that by the use of the apparatus described thewater in the tank may be kept at any temperature desired and the full orany desired boiler-pressure retained in the coil and return system. Suchregulation may be easily effected by manipulation of the valve g, thelever of which is shown as arranged to pass over a divided segment 9 bywhich the extent of its movement may be easily seen and controlled. Itis obvious, for instance, that the lower the temperature which it isdesired to retain in the tank the less steam will be used and the lesscondensation will take place. The valve g will therefore be set to allowthe escape of a less quantity of water from the coil when a lowertemperature in the tank is desired, cutting off the escape of water ofcondensation obviously resulting in the coil becoming partially filledand a consequent reduction of the steam-space and of the amount of steamcondensed. Similarly, to secure a higher temperature of water in thetank, the valve g is opened to allow the escape of a greater quantity ofwater from the coil in a given time, and a greater part of the coil willthen be filled with steam, the amount of heat lost in condensation orconduction will be greater and the quantity of water condensed will beproportionally greater. Finally, when the desired temperature is sogreat as to require that all of the coil should be filled with steam toaccomplish the heating of the water, then the valve it may be opened, asbefore described, and the coil brought into direct contact with thereturn-system. The apparatus described therefore constitutes a means ofregulating perfectly the temperature of the water in the tank.

Such apparatus also affords a means of automatically regulating thequantity of steam used, so as to prevent lowering of the pressure in theboiler, because, as before stated, if condensation in the coil increasesso as to produce more water of condensation than can escape through theregulating-valve then the steam-space of the coil will be diminished bythe filling of the coil with water, and the amount of steam used therebydecreased until condensation is so small as to call for the normalconsumption of steam only.

In the apparatus described regulation may be accomplished otherwise thanby the use of the valve g, as above set forth-as, for instance, let itbe assumed that the evaporating-capacity of the boiler is two gallons,and that said valve g is set to allow the escape of three gallons perminute when the valve is open and the coil subject to the fullsteampressure. If said valve 0' is then closed so as to shut offthree-fourths of the steam-passage, the little steam passing through itcannot maintain a high pressure of steam, be-

cause the steam-pressure in the coil added to' the water-pressure in thedescending-pipe G does not equal at the check-valve g the pressure inthe return system. Under these conditions, therefore, said check-valveremains closed and no water will pass from the coil, but it will remainin the coil, so as to reduce the steam-space thereof until the smallquantity of steam passing through the valve 0 will keep up theboiler-pressure therein, when the increased pressure thereby produced onthe Water column in pipe G will enable the water to flow out through thecheck-valve to the return system. It follows, therefore,that regulationmay be effected either by the use of the valve 0 or the valve g, or byboth valves.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a construction in which the lower part of thepipe F is enlarged and the pipe G located within the same. In thisconstruction the steam in F transmits its heat to the Water in pipe G,which is of about the same temperature when it enters said pipe G as thewater in the tank. By this construction, therefore, I utilize the steamwhich is constantly passing through the pipe F during the operation ofthe return system for heating the water of condensation before thelatter passes into the return system and is carried back to thegenerator. In small pipes the Water, when carried along with the steamor air, may move in pistons filling the bore of the pipe. In such casethe air or steam will pass the regulating-valve g very rapidly; butthepiston of Water following it at a high speed will be instantly stoppedwhen it reaches said valve 9, thereby producing a shock or water-hammer..To prevent this result, I have greatly enlarged the pipe G at its upperend, so as to form a chamber g in which the water may pass around theair or steam instead of passing along with it, thereby securing a solidbody of water at the valve g.

The difference in pressure between the steam within the coil and that inthe return system determines the extent of steam area in the coilsnecessary to keep up a certain pressure, it being obvious that theheight of the water column in the pipe G must be such as to balance thepressures in the coil and return systems, so that the greater thedifferences in pressures the higher will be the said column. The heightof the water column in pipe G is therefore one of the factors by whichthe extent of the steam-space in the coil is determined.

Fig. 3 shows a construction in which regulation is effected by changingor shifting vertically the position of the lower end of the water columnin the pipe G. In this instance the pipes F and 'G are connected byhorizontal passages f f f &c., at different heights. lVhen the water iscold and a discharge of a small quantity only of the water ofcondensation from the coil is desired, the highest passage f is openedand all others left closed. hen the tank-water becomes hotter, one ofthe lower cross-pipes is opened and the upper one is closed. If thevalves in all of the cross-pipes are closed and the valve f is alsoclosed, water will fill the said pipe G and the coil, and none canescape. If, however, one of the lower valves is opened, Water will passthrough one of the cross-pipes and will act against the steam-pressurein the return system with a pressure due to the steampressure in thecoil added to the weight of the column of water in the pipe G and coilabove the cross-pipe, through which water is escaping. hen one of thelowermost valvesis open this water column will fill only a small part ofthe coil, and thus give a large steam-space therein, while if one of theuppermost valves is open the water column will nearly fill the coil, anda relatively small steam-space will be afforded in said coil. Itfollows, there fore, that by opening one of the other of the cross-pipesthe steam area of the coil may be controlled so as to increase ordecrease the quantity of steam condensed in the coil, and to therebyregulate the quantity of steam used.

The apparatus shown in Fig. 3 has the disadvantage of not beingautomatic or of requiring hand-manipulation of the valves to secureproper results, and this form is herein shown solely for the purpose ofmore fully illustrating the principles involved in the regulatingdevices, and is not recommended for practical use.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with a steam-generator, aheating-coil, and a steam-loop for returning to the generator the watercondensed ICC ITO

3. The combination, with a steam-genera tor, a heating-coil, and asteam-loop, of a depending pipe connected With the lower and dischargingend of the coil and with the loop,

said pipe to afford a water column of sufficient height to overcome anexcess of pressure in the loop over that in the coil, and

means for controlling the exit of water from said pipe into the loop,substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a steam-generator, a heating-coil, and asteam-loop for returning the water condensed in the coil to thegenerator, of a depending pipe connected with the lower and dischargingend of the said coil and delivering into the loop, and a valve forcontrolling the flow of liquid from said pipe to the said loop,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I affix mysignature in presence of tWo witnesses.

WALTER BURNI-IAM.

Witnesses:

H. H. NEWMAN, S. F. CHAMBERLAIN.

